MARTY FENTON

Describe your life before the saving and redeeming grace of God in Christ.

I was an average kid just trying to make my parents proud of me and wanting to be accepted by others my age. I grew up going to church just about every Sunday and most Wednesdays. I learned all of the Bible stories most growing up in the South heard. As a child, I thought that if I worked hard to be good that God would be proud of me and would let me go to heaven. My uncle and my Sunday School teachers during my childhood led me to understand who Jesus was and what He did for me.


Describe how you came to know/embrace the redeeming grace of God in Christ? 

During the summer before my 8th grade year, one Sunday in church the preacher was preaching I was struggling with the thought that I was lost and nothing I was doing made any difference. It was a literal battle going on inside of me. I remember that—during the invitation—I felt God telling me that I needed to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior because without Him I would not see heaven. I remember feeling like I was also being told, “You’re already saved and are going to embarrass yourself by stepping out and going down to the pastor.” It was in that moment I realized I was lost without Jesus and I wanted and needed Him. I knew I could not be “good enough” and He just wanted me the way I was. I don't remember stepping out but I remember falling on my knees at the alter and asking Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. The next week I was baptized in our city swimming pool.



What is the call of God upon your life now that you live for Christ as Savior and Lord? 

The call of God on my life has always been to live in a way that is pleasing to my Lord and draws others in my life to want to follow Him as well. I have always been drawn to wanting to serve others with whatever talents God has given me. I guess that's why I served for almost 25 years in the Marine Corps and for almost 10 years as a sheriff's deputy wanting to protect and serve others. God has blessed me so much in my life: allowing me to teach Sunday school, sing for Him, work in vacation Bible school and to serve as a deacon in the churches I have been in since I was 35 years old. I wish I could say my walk with my Lord has always been smooth, but it has not! I am a sinner saved by God's grace and mercy! Without Jesus, who has never and will never give up on me, I would have no hope!!

CODY BOSHEARS

Describe your life before the saving and redeeming grace of God in Christ.

I grew up in a faithful family and church, but I had lived a double-life, putting on a face for my parents, pastor, teachers, and friends while pursuing a life of lust and excess. I had hardly shadowed a church door while I was away from home, and I was full of pride, selfishness, and a sense of superiority - something my hard-won college degree fed terribly. Lust and alcohol were band-aids for everything: loneliness, frustration, anger, self-hatred, and stress, but my problems were always waiting for me after the buzz lifted and my lust was sated.


Describe how you came to know/embrace the redeeming grace of God in Christ? 

After college, I decided that I was “too old” to be using pornography and drinking myself into a stupor. The battle against alcohol was an easy win but could not defeat lust. I joined an online ministry called “Setting Captives Free.” What was supposed to be a sixty-day program turned into two years of going through the studies again and again. One day, as I was completing one of the lessons, Jesus said, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is a slave to sin,” and I saw that Jesus wasn’t simply religious - he was true. Later, I heard a sermon, “Sex and the Supremacy of Christ,” and was overcome with the knowledge that I didn’t love God. I didn’t know Jesus. My prayer changed from, “Lord, free me from lust,” to “Lord, show me more of yourself.” I didn’t have a mountain-top experience but a slow change in my desire to know Him and to repent of sin. I was finally free from lust and eager to serve. Many friends were coming to faith at the same time - Jeremy Adkins and Benjamin Birdsong among them - and we began meeting, praying, and studying together.


What is the call of God upon your life now that you live for Christ as Savior and Lord? 

It's true to say that Jesus turned my world upside down. Over time, all my priorities changed. I no longer believed that a woman or relationship could fulfill me. Perhaps the biggest change was that I sought to serve rather than be served. I began to run everything through the filter of the Bible. If I felt lonely, I knew that Jesus was for me and with me and that He was more fulfilling than any relationship. I came to completely accept a life of singleness. Similarly, I just stopped feeling superior. I had been a train wreck under all my knowledge and talents, and I could no longer see myself as being "better than" but as a "like-type" sinner with everyone else. The answer to my brokenness and weakness - Jesus - became the answer to all the shortcomings I saw in others. God has namely called me to serve young people, both as a teacher and a youth pastor. I wouldn't say I'm great at either, but I'm confident in the knowledge that God uses broken, imperfect people to achieve His goals.


CHRIS ROGERS

Describe your life before the saving and redeeming grace of God in Christ.

I learned at an early age to try to do what was expected of me, at least on the surface. My sins were kept to a minimum and, of course, concealed from authority figures. If you had asked me at any time during my youth if I was a Christian, I’d have probably said “Yes!” But, if you asked me if I was going to Heaven, I’d have said “I hope so.” I was taught to revere the Bible; but my reverence was more like superstition, because I didn’t really read it. Growing up, I tried to find contentment with my friends and—later—my girlfriends. But because I was so sure I was a “good person,” it was easy to be judgmental and self-righteous. I tended to see other people’s flaws very quickly, but excused my own flaws just as quickly. I spent too much time reading and watching garbage for entertainment. When I was in college, political philosophy became my moral compass. I had more in common with the Pharisees than the disciples. Like the Hebrews in the book of Judges, I did “what was right in my own eyes,” (Judges 17:6). I could always justify my sin if I needed to.


Describe how you came to know/embrace the redeeming grace of God in Christ? 

While I knew that I was a sinner, I didn’t know how deep this sin went. Accepting the Gospel didn’t come down to one event or one person—but through the witness of several people over time, and by finally reading and studying the Bible itself. I hadn’t read the Bible until I had met my wife. She was reading it every day, using a modern translation. Inspired by her, I replaced my KJV with an NIV and started reading myself. The basic idea of the Gospel did get through: just confess your sins to Christ and ask for forgiveness. “But don’t we also have to DO something?” I thought. Some said “Yes,” you have to believe, but also do good works to be saved. Others said “No,” you just had to believe, and what you do after doesn’t matter. But, as I had become most interested in, what did the Bible say? Yes, the Bible does teach that once you were saved you were always saved (Romans 10:9). But it also says that the proof you were saved was in what you do afterward. You aren’t saved by your works (Ephesians 2:8), but they are proof that you are saved (John 14:15, James 2:26). So, what you do really is important – you just can’t trust in your good deeds for salvation (Romans 3:10). Self-righteousness is not only futile, it is idolatry.



What is the call of God upon your life now that you live for Christ as Savior and Lord? 

Now I can see my own wretchedness in light of scripture – being “self righteous” makes me the most wicked person in the room. I used to pray for selfish things, but now I pray for others – their salvation and their sanctification. I still wrestle with the "old me" a lot. As I get older I despise the "old me" more and more (Romans 7:14-25). 1 John 1:8-10 tells me that I’m not the only one who is struggling with sin. All believers do. But, Christ has promised to forgive and restore us if we turn back to him. This isn’t an excuse for sin (Romans 6:15-17) but it is the remedy when we drift off course. Now I have an appetite for reading Scripture and learning all I can about God and sharing this in the context of ministry activities. When my kids were young, I volunteered in some of their activities (Scouts, church, Bible camp, etc.) I’ve worked in jail ministry, VBS, taught older adults in Sunday School and I serve FBCJ as a deacon. My current spheres of influence are in my family, work, church, and the Trail Life troop where I currently volunteer.